I Will My Life to be a Yue Ming
by Ninja Starr
Summary: ((This is my first fanfiction hope you like it!)) My brother is a servant. I a slave. We work in the palace of the emperor of China. We are of noble blood. Now it is as if we never were. I rarely see my brother. Sometimes there is a young man in the palace. I am intrigued, but I am a slave. If he knew I was of noble blood, would he be attracted to me? Or am I truly worthless?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

From the moment my mother was killed, the moment I was stolen, the moment I was bought, I've been nothing but a mere side glance. I am pretty, but no one has taken interest. I am small, but no one cares. I am a slave. I used to work under a prince, but he gave me away. His wife, his only one, protested, but the prince said that he had no choice; the emperor needed more slaves. And now I work at the palace. I am almost always busy, even if some work is entirely different from others I do. I am a substitute for working bodies gone. But I have never cared. There is nothing I care about.

I walk down the hall to the library carrying scrolls that a servant has asked me to return. I try to keep on the edge of vision- slaves are not preferred in the inner-wall. Turning the corner, I see a dark mass on the ground. I approach it quietly and see that it is a young man. _What is he doing?_ I think. _He is supposed to be in bed._ I crouch down, and very hesitantly, reach out and touch his shoulder.

He jerks up and swings his head to look at me, his ponytail stinging my face. "Aiya, what are you-" He suddenly looks at my clothes and slaps me. I stumble back against the wall and he follows, ready to strike again. "How dare you touch me! How dare you touch those scrolls!" He slaps me and knocks the scrolls out of my hands. I press myself closer to the wall and brace myself for another hit, but instead he grabs my hair and drags my body to him, forcing me to look up at his face. He gasps sharply. "You're a girl!?"

Using this distraction, I duck under his arm and run into the garden. I run and run until I finally reach it- a small pond in the shadows of a large tree near a shrine. I touch the shrine first with my hand and then collapse on the edge of the pond, my fingers resting in the water.


	2. Chapter 2

It is a week after my beating. I rake the garden and out of the corner of my eye see a new slave walk over to me. "Ni hao!" She looks at me and smiles.

I stare and nod slowly, then continue to my job. She watches me for a little while. "What is your name?" She asks.

"I'm..." My voice turns to a small whisper.

"Eh?" She tilts her head.

"..." Again, I whisper my name, but she must be a horrible lip reader or does not get the gist because she says: "Cháhuā? That's a beautiful name. Mine is Lǜ Niǎo!"

I turn and look at her in a mixture of astonishment, wonder, and disgust. Lǜ Niǎo means green bird... sickening...

But the idiot just keeps on talking. "I can't believe that I'm working at the palace now. It's so grand; do you think we'll be able to clean the altars?"

I twitch and continue raking.

She comes over and slaps my chest.

I jerk out of her reach and look at her in disgust, trying to hit her with the rake. "What the hell was that!?"

Lǜ Niǎo just laughs and dodges. "I was wondering why a boy would be named Cháhuā! Now I know why: because you're not a boy!" I twitch and try to hit her with the rake again, but she just sidesteps.

"Why is your hair so short? I bet everyone thinks you're a boy because of that!"

I freeze when she talks about my hair, and then swing the rake at her side; this time she isn't able to avoid it and it hits her in the stomach.

"A-ai ya..." She clutches her abdomen. "Are you mad because I touched you? I was only curious; you looked so much like a boy that I had to make sure. Besides, it's not like you have any breasts..."

I try not to hiss in annoyance. What was this girl trying to pull? Sure, my hair is short, sure, I have no chest, but that doesn't mean that someone could just come up to me and start talking about it- especially not my hair. "Shut the hell up. Maybe you're just jealous that I have less of a chance of being raped."

Lǜ Niǎo sighs. "I guess that's true, since it's pretty obvious that I'm a girl …" She looks down at her chest. "Simply a shame…"

I look at her. "Are you done?"

She looks back up at me. "Yes, I am."

"Good." I return to raking the garden. As I'm doing this, Lǜ Niǎo comes up behind me and starts braiding what little there is to braid of my hair. I feel my face flush with heat, but I don't stop her. I hear her softly humming and feel her gentle touch as her fingers brush my neck. It has been so long since someone has done this, to act as if they were my family, like a sister playing with in the small forest of my old home.

Memories flood to my mind, and I let them flow.

I see my old friend, Kōngjiàng, fly across my mind. Then mother. Father doesn't come up- I've never seen him before.

* * *

"Cháhuā, come sleep with me tonight!" Lǜ Niǎo pats the spot on the ground next to her, and I sit down. "Where do you usually sleep?" She asks.

"Wherever, it doesn't matter."

"Well now this is our spot, no one can sleep here, okay?"

"...Okay." I honestly don't get Lǜ Niǎo. She's so weird, and optimistic, and... open. Yes, that's the word. Like when she slapped my chest. She did it again, too. There may not be much there, but it still hurt.

"So... Wǎn'ān!" Lǜ Niǎo throws her body back onto the floor. And after wondering at her, I lie down also.


	3. Chapter 3

Beauty used to resided here. But now it doesn't. Not in a world full of lies and shadows. We are too low for such regalement, and so we make do with what we have, trying to perfect a copy that will have worth, but naught to the heavens. If this is so, then why-

There is a crash and I hear Lǜ Niǎo curse. I twitch and continue in my work, trying not to be seen. Honestly, Lǜ Niǎo is going to loose her hands the way she fools around. I wish she was more careful. I can still hear the words that she said to me this morning clearly: "You may not think of me as your friend, but I consider myself to be. I will always help you no matter what, even if you don't do anything in return." Then she smiled. "So feel free to ask for anything you need!"

I shake my head and walk out of the room I'm in. Now I have to go gather some more ink and brushes so the nobles can use them. Maybe Brother can help me, he should know where they are. I walk away and over to the baths; Brother is sometimes here this time of day. Not to spy on girls (if there were any), I should know why, but to wash his master. I've actually never seen his master before, but Brother says that he's a very special worker of the emperor.

Why Brother can't just give me a straight answer when I need one is so stupid. I know he doesn't want me to be interested in other men, but still, why can't he-

"Jiéjīng..." All of a sudden I feel Brother behind me, wrapping his arms around me and resting his head on my shoulders. "Brother, please let go, I need some-"

"Jiéjīng, say my name. Please. Say it."

"But I need-"

"Say it. I'll help you. Xìn..." Brother's mouth goes up my neck. "Tú... Xìntú. Say it, please."

"Brother, for the last time, I need you to help me to get to the storage. I need some ink and a brush. Hurry, before they find out I haven't done my job, please."

Brother sighs and kisses my jaw. "Okay, it is the small room at the parallel hall. You'll recognize it at once." His head rests back on my shoulder. "Tonight, Jiéjīng, please?"

"No," I say. "Maybe, when you reclaim your title. Aren't you supposed to be with your master?"

"Hmm... Yes. But he just got out of the baths, he doesn't need me just yet."

I let a few seconds slide past. "Brother-"

"XINTU!" I turn around sharply and Brother curses. It is the man who hit me, and he is turning the corner with his robe put on poorly. "Xìntú! Because of you, I had to dress myself!" Brother runs over and bows to the ground apologizing. The man hits Brother's head and continues to yell at him. Then he sees me. "You-"

I bow and run off. I can't be delayed in my work any more than I already have.


End file.
